(Newswire.net — February 7, 2015) — According to the officials, the TransAsia ATR 72 airplane crash is a combination of the engine failure and the pilot’s error. One minute after take-off from Taipei International Airport, the right turbo-prop engine had flamed out, but the pilots shut down the left one.
Take-off and landings are the most delicate part of flying, especially the first minutes of take-off where the airplane is too low and things are getting worse too fast. The emergency procedure when the engine is on fire is to cut off the fuel and commence the emergency shut down sequence. The pilots, however, shuts down the working engine which lead to the fatal crash.
“It is humanly to make mistake, however, video of the crash shows the pilots did absolutely everting to save as much as they could amid the circumstances,” Velimir Isakovic, ATR -72 Pilot, and the President of the Serbian Airline Pilots Association, the institution with 90-years long tradition, told Newswire.net.
According to the Line Operation Safety Audit (LOSA) data, a pilot, familiar with the airplane, and familiar with the route he flies, under good weather conditions, makes two slips in average that could jeopardize the safety, and up to a 14 other minor procedural falls.
Mr. Isakovic told Newswire that the Crew Recruitment Management research data shows that 30 percent of all airplanes crush incidents in the world, are directly caused by the human factor. 70 percent are due to technical issues.
“Today, there is no division in a cockpit other than the pilot flying and the pilot assisting, every command has to be checked and crosschecked. Amid circumstances of the Flight GE235, both pilots reacted professionally,” Mr. Isakovic told Newswire.net.
Thomas Wang, executive director of Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council, said on Friday that the plane’s right engine triggered an alarm just 37 seconds after taking off from the Taipei’s Songshan airport, BBC Asia reported.
The main pilot could be heard on cockpit voice recordings saying the engine had experienced a “flame-out”, Mr. Wang said, which can occur when the fuel supply to the engine is interrupted.
Seconds later, the pilots shut down the left engine, meaning neither engine was producing any power. A restart was attempted, but the plane crashed 72 seconds later.
“Commercial Airline Pilots are trained to put the safety of the passengers before their own lives and the company assets. Two pilots of the Flight GE235 did absolutely everything to save as many as they could,” Mr. Isakovic said.
The flight recorder captured the last three minutes of the Flight GE 235:
10:51:13 — Crew receives take-off clearance
10:52:34 — Tower asks crew to contact Taipei Departure
10:52:38 — Master warning sounds
10:53:04 — Crew reduces power to the left engine
10:53:12–18 — Stall warning sounds
10:53:24 — Crew cuts power to the left engine
10:53:34 — Crew declares emergency: “Mayday, mayday, engine flameout”
10:54:09 — Crew calls for restarting the left engine multiple times
10:54:20 — Left engine is restarted
10:54:34 — Master warning sounds again
10:54:35 — An unidentified sound is heard
10:54:36 — Recordings end
“According to the data, the pilots of TransAsia ATR-72 600, showed the highest professionalism after they lost engine power, and climbed as much as they could to gain the maximum altitude and increase the glide range. At 1350ft altitude, the 116kts take-off speed starts do drop and the flaying pilot kept the perfect glide angle in attempt to reach the river, maneuvering to avoid the buildings,” Mr. Isakovic told Newswire.
Unfortunately, the airplane stalled – lost the airlift – passing over the bridge and left wing drops down 90 degrees hitting the concrete bridge fence, than the ATR -72 plunged into the river killing at least 40 of the 58 people on board.
According to BBC Asia, Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways says it is cancelling 90 flights so that its pilots can attend training, after one of its planes crashed on Wednesday. It is the fourth TransAsia ATR-72 crash within company history.